Applying and Teaching

Geography: The Land

Down Under
WRITTEN BY: MEAGHAN SHERER
 C H AP TE R 1

Introduction

Pennsylvania Standards (PDESAS):

7.1.4.B. Describe and locate places and regions as de-
fined by physical and human features.
7.2.4.A. Identify the physical characteristics of places
and regions.
7.4.4.A. Identify the effect of the physical systems on
people within a community.

Essential Question for Teachers: Why is Australia a useful landform to teach the concepts of
Geography to students?
Big Idea for Teachers: The continent and country of Australia is a unique and vast area with
many different landforms.
Before you start any geography lesson, inform your these qualities. I hope you find this text informative and
students that this land mass is a country AND a continent. helpful when teaching geography to your students!
Explain the difference between the two. How many conti-
To teach students about the subject of geography
nents are there? What are they? How many oceans are
utilizing Australia as the focal point, I would start out by
on our planet? What are they? By teaching your students
taking my students on a virtual field trip exploring the dif-
this before starting ANY geography unit, you are provid-
ferent terrains found in the country. We would then do an
ing them with a sense of global awareness. Knowledge of
activity classifying the different landforms so that they are
the continents and oceans is imperative to extend their
aware of what a plain is when we are learning about the
learning. For example, if you start your unit off by telling
physical systems found on the plains of Australia. I might
your students that the country of Australia is in the Pacific
assign my students to read a chapter a night of Dingoes at
Ocean, the majority will have no idea where Australia is
Dinner Time: A Magic Treehouse Book to tie literature
in relation to them in the world. Having a sense of global
into our geography unit. This helps enhance their curios-
awareness is not only important for learning geography,
ity level and sense of adventure. We could then compare
but also eventually as a member of society. As teachers,
and contrast the similarities and differences between our
we should build and add on to their sense of adventure
country and Australia. Compare and contrast is a valu-
and curiosity. Geography is one of the easiest places to do
able teaching technique because you want your students
this if taught correctly. I chose to write about Australia be-
to notice that not everyone grows up in the same geo-
cause there are so many wondrous landforms, animals,
graphical regions, climatic systems, and economical sys-
and historical events that many countries do not possess
tems.
1
 iBooks and Assisting Those with Special Needs
Most accommodations in everyday life are hidden or are not so obvious to those without disabilities. However,
accommodations and modifications to the things around us are not just for people with disabilities. According to
Merriam-Webster, the definition of technology is “a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical proc-
esses, methods, or knowledge”. Keeping this in mind, technology does not have to be a computer, an iPad, or any
other expensive piece of equipment. In my own words, I find technology to be something that makes our lives easier.
In some cases technology is needed for some people to function. One of the most obvious accommodations I can
think of, that everyone can relate to, would be handicapped accessible doors. Yes, they are of course useful to those in
wheelchairs, but they can also be helpful to, for example, someone holding a big box that can not hold a door open.
With this example in mind we need to realize that these little things that make our lives easier are essential for others
to function in society (Technology).
iBooks are a great tool for your classroom if you have students that: cannot hold more than a few pounds, have
limited fine motor skills (trouble turning pages), have difficulty reading traditional books due to low light, have sensi-
tivity to light (you can change it to night mode or sepia), or have trouble recalling important information (highlight-
ing) just to name a few. They are also great for students because they are able to look up words by just tapping on the
unfamiliar word. This way they do not have to ask, and possibly be embarrassed, or waste time looking it up when
they could be continuing reading. Another accommodation iBook has included within the app is VoiceOver. This en-
ables the user to hear what is being said in the story. Some iBooks such as, Reach for the Stars, let visually impaired
children explore this book about space. The authors and publishers wanted readers to know that anyone can be a sci-
entist. This book is especially unique because every child reads the same version of the book; the student who is dis-
abled is not singled out by having different materials for the same lesson. It is interactive where you can touch the
screen and “hear the name of the feature as a caption appears on screen”. The software also has the ability to use
“text to speech, captioning, a compatibility option for hearing aids, compatibility with refreshable Braille displays,
and high-contrast colors for students with low vision.” Another amazing quality they have incorporated into this
book is “sonification”, the use of sounds to convey data. “For instance, in a diagram plotting the brightness of stars
against their surface temperature, touch-generated pitch variations indicate the intensity of a particular star. The
brighter the star, the higher the pitch. The star's temperature is conveyed through either the left or right ear. Hotter
stars are on the left of the graph, cooler stars on the right” (Marketwired.com). Additionally, Braille overlays can be
ordered from the National Braille Press.
Although this iBook does not fit with my standard, I chose it to demonstrate the great things iBooks can do for
children with disabilities. Now that we know these technologies exist, other people can create similar iBooks for vari-
ous subjects. For example, if I had this software used to make Reach for the Stars interactive and compatible for all
users for my Geography lesson, I would have a map of Australia and the user could tap around the map. If it is a
part of Australia where a lot of rain falls, there could be the sound of rain falling along with information being read
about the average annual rain fall. Another accommodation to include could be integrating the “sonification” to
“show” other important information.

2
 Self-Ownership of Learning

Giving your students their own freedom to control what they learn may seem like reckless teaching style; they
might not do everything they are supposed to, goof off, or not give 100%. It is important to see the cons of a situa-
tions in order to really assess the pros and if it is really worth it. Creating an iBook myself has opened my eyes to the
topic of owning your own learning. I was not told that I needed to write to a specific audience, so I chose to write to
fellow teachers; I was not told what subject or grade level I needed to focus on, so I chose 4th grade geography. By be-
ing able to choose my audience and focus, I could really personalize my approach on the matter. For instance, I made
the concentration of my lesson around the country of Australia. If you told a child he or she had to do a project on
the country of Zimbabwe and the student had no desire to learn about Zimbabwe, he or she will probably not do his
or her best work.
Utilizing iBook Author in the classroom to let students take control of their own learning is a good medium de-
pending upon the grade level. I would not recommend it for lower than third grade. I would keep this application to
third and above due to the complexity of the widgets, tabs, and formatting. I know children are very technologically
savvy in today’s age, but I believe we need to keep children away from computers and iPads for as long as possible be-
cause of safety hazards as well as the harmful blue light that comes from screens. iBook Author is a prime example for
taking control of your own learning when using it in a classroom because you are telling students that they are pub-
lished authors! Utilizing iBook Author in your classroom gives your students a sense of responsibility. Once they hit
publish, they will be able to say what most adults can not; it gives them a sense of importance and empowerment. By
letting a child write what they want to right about, with or without a prompt, they are expressing themselves in a way
that they may not within other media. With iBook Author, once you publish your work you can not edit it; but you do
not want to have typos! This would be a great opportunity to have peers proofread their classmates stories and work
on grammar techniques. You could have them write down suggestions of what to change instead of changing the writ-
ing because the suggestion(s) might be wrong or the author might not agree.
Wrapping up, it seems that the pros outweigh the cons of giving students their own freedom to control their
own learning. It would encourage creativity, assign responsibility, and give them a sense of importance. All of which
tie in to extending their learning, which was mentioned in the introduction.

Resources
Smith, Trent. "New IBooks(R) Textbook Helps Visually Impaired Visit the Stars Through Touch, Sound."
Marketwire. N.p., 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/new-ibooksr-textbook-helps-visually-impaired-
visit-the-stars-through-touch-sound-1944119.htm>.

Teachers, By Teachers For. "Empowering Students to Take Ownership of Learning." TeachHUB. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Oct. 2016. <http://www.teachhub.com/empower-student-to-take-ownership-of-learning>.

"Technology." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology>.